bear fruit


bear fruit

1. Literally, to produce fruit, as of certain trees and plants. Now that the tree in our back yard is bearing fruit, the kids love picking apples from it.2. By extension, to yield desired results. Donna is convinced that this plan will bear fruit if we just keep working on it, but it's been a year—the rest of us are officially skeptical.See also: bear, fruit

bear fruit

 1. Lit. [for a plant or tree] to yield fruit. Our apple tree didn't bear fruit this year. 2. Fig. to yield results. I hope your new plan bears fruit. We've had many good ideas, but none of them has borne fruit.See also: bear, fruit

bear fruit

Yield results, have a favorable outcome, as in This new idea of his is bound to bear fruit. This metaphoric term, first recorded in 1879, transfers the production of fruit by a tree or plant to other kinds of useful yield. See also: bear, fruit

bear fruit

FORMALCOMMON If an action bears fruit, it produces good results. The strategy of concentrating the company's efforts on a smaller range of businesses is now beginning to bear fruit. It remains to be seen whether the economic reforms will bear fruit.See also: bear, fruit

bear fruit

have good results. This expression is a biblical metaphor, found, for example, in Matthew 13:23: ‘But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty’.See also: bear, fruit

bear ˈfruit

have the desired result; be successful: The tireless efforts of campaigners have finally borne fruit and the prisoners are due to be released tomorrow.See also: bear, fruit